SREL Reprint #2858

Potential of largemouth bass as vectors of 137Cs dispersal

M.H. Paller1, D.E. Fletcher2, T. Jones3, S.A. Dyer4, J.J. Isely5, and J. W. Littrell6

1Savannah River National Laboratory, Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Building 773-42A,
Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC 29808, USA
2Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA
3Department of Aquaculture, Fisheries, and Wildlife, GO8 Lehotsky Hall, Clemson, SC 29634-0362, USA
4SGCP-Risk Assessment, Westinghouse Savannah River Company,
Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC 29808, USA
5South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Clemson University,
Clemson, SC 29634-0317, USA
6SGCP-Geochemical Monitoring, Westinghouse Savannah River Company,
Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC 29808, USA

Abstract: We conducted a radio telemetry study on the movements of potentially contaminated largemouth bass between Steel Creek, a restricted access 137Cs contaminated stream on the Savannah River Site (located in South Carolina, USA), and the publicly accessible Savannah River. Largemouth bass were relatively mobile in lower Steel Creek and the portion of the Savannah River near Steel Creek, and there was considerable movement between these two habitats. Largemouth bass had home ranges of about 500 linear meters of shoreline in the Savannah River but sometimes moved long distances. Such movements occurred primarily during the spawning season, largely upstream, and increased when water levels were changing or elevated. However, approximately 90% of the largemouth bass observations were within 10 km of Steel Creek. The total quantity of 137Cs transported into the Savannah River by largemouth bass was much less than transported by water and suspended sediments discharged from Steel Creek. We conclude that largemouth bass from the Savannah River Site are unlikely to be responsible for long distance dispersal of substantial radiological contamination in the Savannah River.

Keywords: Largemouth bass; 137Cs; Cesium; Telemetry; Migration; Dispersal; Savannah River; Fish

SREL Reprint #2858

Paller, M. H., D. E. Fletcher, T. Jones, S. A. Dyer, J. J. Isely, and J. W. Littrell. 2005. Potential of largemouth bass as vectors of 137Cs dispersal. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 80:27-43.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).